Apparatus for saccharifying starchy materials



Deco 8, 1942. L. M. CHRISTENSEN APPARATUS FOR SACCHARIFYING STARCHYMATERIALS Filed Oct. 2, 1940 g A I i E a a i. 6 ::;':::E::::;:'

Elma/MM LEO M CHR/STENSE/V Patented Dec. 8, 1942 APPARATUS FORSACCHARIFYING STARCHY MATERIALS Leo M. Christensen, Moscow, Idaho,assignor to National Agrol Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporationof Delaware Application ctober'2, 1940, Serial No. 359,432

4' Claims.

Generically this application relates to an apparatus for saccharifyingstarchy materials, and more especially to an apparatus provided withmeans for suddenly chilling heated mash during materials requireapproximately one hour for.

cooling the cooked mash to sacchariflcation temperature. Moreover, theseapparatus usually require a rehandling of the material during theprocess.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an apparatus which willovercome the disadvantages of the prior art.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus in which thestarchy material may be converted without the necessity for rehandling.

- A further object of my invention is to provide an apparatus in whichthe mash may be suddenly chilled after the cooking step.

With these and other objects in view, my' invention embraces broadly theconcept of providing an apparatus in which the ground starchy materialmay be reduced to a slurry, cooked, suddenly chilled and aerated in onecontinuous step without rehandling. This apparatus is of simpleconstruction and occupies a relatively small space.

In the drawing: a

Figure 1 discloses a diagrammatic view of the apparatus.

As shown in the drawing, the apparatus which forms the basis of thisinvention comprises a feeding unit A, a cooking unit B, a chilling unitC, and an aerating unit D. The feeding unit A consists of a container iwhich is of suitable size to hold ground grain or tubers. This containerl is operatively connected by a conduit 2 containing a valve 2 to amixing unit 3 in which is horizontally mounted a rotatable shaft 4provided with impellers 5. Water is admitted into this unit through apipe 6 controlled by a valve 6'.

The unit 3 is connected by a conduit 3' with a mingling device I inwhich is vertically mounted a rotatable shaft 8 provided with impellersill.

which are driven by an external power unit which is not shown.

The mingler I is operatively connected to a power pump I I by means of aconduit l2 provided with a valve l2. This pump may be of any suitabletype and is designed to pump the mash through a pipe l3 of the cookerunit B. The cooker B consists of a coiled pipe It which is oi. asuitable diameter and length to hold the mash for the required cookingtlme'of from thirty to sixty minutes.v At the inlet opening of thecoiled pipe I4 is a steam jet l5 which is of suitable size to raise thetemperature of the mash within the coiled pipe i l from to C. The otherextremity of the pipe I4 is reduced and empties into the chilling unit 0as indicated at IS.

The chilling unit C consists of a housing H which is operativelyconnected by a pipe l8 to the aerating unit D. Connected with thehousing I1 is a pipe l9 through which water and material havingdiastatic properties, such as bran mold, may be conveyed to the mash.The housing is also provided with a plurality of vertically mountedrotating minglers 20 between bafiles 20'.

The aerating unit D consists of an open tank 2! to which is operativelyconnected a pump 22 which is designed to recirculate the contents of thetank2l'. The tank 2| is also connected to a suitable mash cooler, whichis not shown, through which the mash may be pumped to the fermenter 7ried by gravity through the conduit 2 to the mixer 3. At the same time,a sufficient quantity of water is admitted to the mixer 3 through thepipe 6 to produce a mash of approximately double the concentrationdesired for the fermentation phase of the process. The water admittedshould be of a temperature below that at which starch 'gelatinizes.

As the ground starchy material and water is admitted to'the mixer 3, itis formed into a slurry by the action of the impellers 5 and then passesthrough the conduit 3 into the mingler I where the action of theimpellers l0 completes the mixing,

When the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed, the slurry is admittedinto the conduit l2 where it passes into the pump l l which forces itthrough the conduit 13 into the heating pipe M which forms a part of thecooker B. At the Rigidly mounted on shafts 4 and 8 are pulleys 9 55 sametime steam is admitted through the steam jet l5 into the pipe l4 and thetemperature of the mash is raised from 100 to 110 C.

The mash requires from thirty to sixty minutes to pass through the pipeI4 and then is emptied into the chilling unit 0. At the same time amixture of water and diastatic material is also admitted to the unit Cthrough the conduit I9. In this step sufllcient wateris admitted toreduce the mash to a suitable consistency for fermentation and the waterhas been previously chilled to a temperature which will instantaneouslyreduce the temperature of the mash from approximately 100 C. to thedesired saccharifying temperature which is usually approximately 55 C.Sufllcient diastatic material, such as mold bran, to convert the starchinto fermentable carbohydrates has been previously added to the water. 1

As soon as the mash and water come into contact, they are immediatelymixed by the impellers 20. This causes instantaneous cooling and alsobrings the diastatic agent into contact with the starchy material.

The mixture then passes through the pie it into the container 2| whereit is agitated and aerated from time to time by action of thecentrifugal pump 22. At the end of this period, the mash is pumpedthrough a suitable mash cooler, which is not shown, to the fermenterwhere it is inoculated.

While for purposes of illustration I have shown my invention as appliedto one specific structure, it is obvious that changes can be. made inthe structural details and the position of these structural units may bevaried without departing from the spirit of the invention.

- I claim:

1. An apparatus for converting starchy materials into fermentablecarbohydrates comprising a container for the starchy material, a conduitextending from the container to a housing, a shaft rotatably mounted inthe housing, a plurality of impellers mounted on the shaft, means tointroduce water into the housing, means connecting said housing to theinner'ext'remity of a coiled pipe of large diameter, the outer extremityof said pipe being constricted to form a reduced portion, a pressurepump operatively connected to said means, a steam conduit connected tothe pipe at a point adjacent its inner extremity, said reduced extremityof the pipe communicating with a second housing, a liquid supply conduitentering the housing at a point adjacent the said extremity, a pluralityof shafts rotatably mounted in the housing in parallel relation, aplurality of impellers mounted on each shaft, and a baille extendingbetween each of the .said shafts, said bailles being mounted on theinterior of the said housing.

2. An apparatus for converting starchy materials into fermentablecarbohydrates comprising a container for the starchy material, a conduitextending from the container to a housing, a shaft rotatably mounted inthe housing, a plurality of impellers mounted on the shaft, means tointroduce water into the housing, means connecting said housing to'theinner extremity of a coiled pipe of large diameter, the outer extremityof said pipe being constricted to form a reduced portion, a pressurepump operatively connected to said means, a steam conduitconnected tothe pipe at a point adjacent its inner extremity, said reduced extremityof the pipe communicating with a second housing, a liquid supply conduitentering the housing at a point adjacent the said extremity, a pluralityof shafts rotatably mounted in the housing in parallel relation, aplurality of impellers mounted on each shaft, a baille extending betweeneach of the said shafts. said baflies being mounted on the interior ofsaid housing, a conduit connected to the said housing at a pointopposite that communicating with the said reduced portion of the pipe,said conduit connecting the housing to a tank,- a pipe positionedexteriorly of the said tank, one extremity of the pipe-communicatingwith the lower portion of the tank and the other extremity communicatingwith the upper portion of the tank, and a pressure pump inter- 4connecting the said tank to the inner extremity of the coiled pipe oflarge diameter, the outer extremity of said pipe being constricted toform a reduced portion, a pressure pump operatively connected to saidconduit, a steam conduit connected to the pipe at a point adjacent itsinner extremity, said reduced extremity of the pipe communicating with asecond housing, a liquid supply conduit entering the housing at a pointadjacent the said extremity, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted inthe housing in parallel re-' lation, a plurality of impellers mounted oneach shaft, a baille extending between each of the said shafts,-saidbailles being mounted on the interior of said housing, a conduitconnected to the said housing at a point opposite that communicatingwith the said reduced portion of the pipe, said conduit connecting thehousing to a tank, a

pipe positioned exteriorly of the said tank, one extremity of the pipecommunicating with the of said pipe being constricted,to form a reducedportion, a steam conduit connected to the pipe adjacent its innerextremity, said reduced extremity of the pipe communicating with asecond housing, a liquid supply conduit entering the housing at a pointadjacent the said reduced extremity, and a plurality of mixing meansmounted in the housing in spaced relation.

LEO M. CHRIS'I'ENSEN.

